


Works The Same When Halved

by Faelin



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Temporary Character Death, no one actually dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-27 23:06:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2709998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faelin/pseuds/Faelin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU Where Emma takes two steps into Granny’s and finds Killian</p>
            </blockquote>





	Works The Same When Halved

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a birthday present for a good friend of mine
> 
> Enjoy the angst!

“Wha- Killian? What are you doing here? What happened to all the fairies?”

Killian’s head hung low, having not wanted Emma’s footsteps to come any closer but knowing that even if he’d tried to get away he wouldn’t have anywhere to go. Emma would have seen or heard him.

“Swan, wasn’t expecting you here so soon.” His head had moved upwards slightly so his voice wasn’t as muffled, but he didn’t dare look her in the eyes now. He wouldn’t be able to handle the confusion, anger, and who knows what else warring across her face.

“So soon? What do you mean? Killian, what happened here? Did you do something?” Emma’s voice grew louder as she talked. Careful footsteps bringing her closer to his body on the floor, but stopping far enough away that Killian knew his choice to not look up at her was a good one.

“It’s rather obvious, isn’t it? All the fairies have disappeared and I’m the only one here. Doesn’t take a sheriff to deduce what happened.” The pirate’s voice was low, with as little emotion put into it as he possibly could. Emma finding out what happened wasn’t supposed to happen. He never wanted to hurt her, not after everything. Damn that cursed Rumplestiltskin. His good hand unconsciously went to the left side of his chest, where he could feel the emptiness of where his heart should be.

Emma whispered quickly to her companions, telling them to inform her parents about the matter if the curse hasn’t reached them yet. Once they were gone, she didn’t know what to do. Her eyes wandered around the destroyed diner; Shattered glass littered the floor where vials had crashed, tables and chairs were turned over and skewed, papers lay littered around the floor. Emma clenched her fists at her sides, before taking in a breath and turning back towards the pirate. She walked the last few steps towards him and kneeled so that they were on the same level. 

“Why? Why’d you do it?” Killian swallowed hard, eyes screwed shut after an imaginary lump caught in his throat.

“Doesn’t bloody matter now. It’s been done and it can’t be undone. Might as well do what you can to get yourself out of here while you’re able to.”

Emma scoffed. “Of course it matters! This isn’t like you, you wouldn’t damn the entire town to this fate without a reason. Now please, tell me.” Emma’s hand went to Killian’s shoulder, hoping the physical touch would loosen him up a bit, but he just hunched his shoulders and dropped his head down further.

“I- I can’t.” He sucked in a breath at the phantom touch of a hand around his heart and Killian closed his eyes harder against it, practically tearing up. He couldn’t hide the grief in his voice no matter how hard he tried to mask his emotions.

Emma’s grip on his shoulder loosened, but didn’t go away after Killian’s response. “Why can’t you?” She replied with as much calmness in her voice as she could muster. She tried to duck her head downwards to catch his eyes, but Killian turned away.

“Try asking your son’s grandf- AH!” His hand squeezed around the place in his chest where his heart should be as he hunched forward, the phantom touch around his heart now being a real thing with a very real pain.

“Killian! Killian, what’s happening? What’s wrong?” Emma’s hands grabbed onto his shoulders and pushed them back to the counter behind him before grabbing onto both sides of his face and bringing it level with hers. The pirate was breathing heavily, chest heaving while the pain subsided to a dull ache that was much more manageable.

When he finally caught his breath he noticed that Emma’s hands were still on his face, rubbing soothing circles with her thumbs as she patiently waited for him to be okay.

“You better tell me what the hell just happened.” She demanded as soon as Killian’s breathing seemed under control.

“Well, love, if I tried to do that again I’m not sure my _heart_ would be able to take it.” He finally opened his eyes and looked at her to gauge her reaction, hoping that she would see what he was trying to say.

“Your heart? What…” Emma’s eyes went to Killian’s hand that was still clutching at his chest, breathing still a bit on the heavy side as his eyes bored into hers, begging her to understand.

Emma’s eyes grew wide as understanding dawned over her. Killian’s cut-off word and over-emphasis on the word ‘heart’. 

“What did he do to you? No, not what, I know what he did. Why did he do it? I thought you two were over your rivalry.”

“You don’t really get over a rivalry that’s over hundreds of years old, love, but this didn’t have to do with that, at least not directly. I’m just a pawn.” The shame of what he’d done, not just to the fairies, but at what else he’d done while under Rumplestiltskin’s control as well, came full force then, making his head bow again as though weighed down by the guilt.

The confession seemed to be a breaking point as the pain came back worse than before. He cried out, falling to his side as the pain intensified. Killian felt his body lock up after he curled inward, cutting himself off from Emma’s attempts to help, though they were futile in the first place.

Soon he passed out, the pain growing to be too much. A frantic Emma grabbed his face and yelled his name over and over, but getting no response. Tears threatened to fall as Killian’s mouth moved on its own accord, but the words that came out were definitely not his. 

“Dearie, if you want your beloved pirate to see the next day then I suggest you stop asking questions. Go save the town and stay away from him, or I will end his life right in front of you.”

Emma wiped the tears that threatened to fall from her face before standing up and walking hurriedly towards the front door of Granny’s. With one last look at Killian’s curled form, her resolve set and she made her way towards Mr. Gold’s shop to put a stop to this.

~

Emma slammed the buggy’s door behind her as she angrily marched to the door of Gold’s shop, only to be thrown backwards against her car by an invisible force.

She quickly righted herself and went back to the door. Carefully reaching her hand outwards, Emma was met with a magical barrier around the door. Cursing quietly under her breath, she counted this as a dead end and climbed back into her car.

The curse was too close now, there wasn’t time to look anywhere else for Gold. Taking a deep breath, she started the buggy up and sped back to Granny’s where hopefully Killian hadn’t moved since she left.

By the time Emma made it back the menacing purple clouds above were right on top of them. She sprinted inside to find that Killian had woken up and sat up again, back against the counter like Emma had originally found him.

“Emma, find what you were looking for?” He seemed to have recovered mostly from earlier, but his eyes seemed more defeated than Emma had ever seen them before and she hated seeing that look on his face.

“Everyone’s locked themselves up or hidden away, I don’t even know where to start looking.” She confessed. It was no use lying right now, not to him.

“They’re smart then. Just leave me to my fate love, save the town like the Savior you are. I’ll be fine here.”

“I’m not leaving you alone here.” Emma replied immediately. Her determined gaze bored into the side of his face since he was staring at the floor again.

“Fine, might as well come clean then. Rumplestiltskin is- AHH!” Once again cut off by the intense pain his chest, Killian’s yells abruptly stopped along his heart.

“Killian? Killian! Don’t you do this to me Killian, I can’t handle this happening again. Please!” Tears began to fall from Emma’s eyes as her hands moved over the pirate’s body. Checked his pulse, lightly slap his face to wake him, finally landing on his chest where his heart should be.

Her forehead came to rest on his collarbone as she wept. She thought of Neal, of her parents that were currently locked in cells apart from each other in preparation for the curse that was no doubt here already when her head shot upwards, eyes wide open as she remembered what her parents had done to cast the second curse.

With her hand hovering a few inches from her chest, she dragged up all the magic she could and plunged it into her chest, gasping at the sudden intrusion and pain as she ripped her own heart out. Emma cradled it between her hands before twisting. It was odd, the feeling of it happening inside her chest and right in front of her very eyes, but the heart split nonetheless and she only glanced at it for moment before plunging one half of it into Killian’s chest and the other back into her own.

“Come on, come on. Wake up, Killian. I know you can hear me and you better wake up.” She was starting to think that maybe she was too late when suddenly Killian’s gasp filled the silence of the diner. His eyes cast around the room wildly as he took in his surroundings, chest heaving as finally settled them on Emma’s teary smile.

Killian’s mouth moved to open, but was stopped as Emma placed herself on top of him, the tears that started falling before new tears of happiness started. Killian lifted his slightly weary arms and wrapped them around her as they both took the moment to bask in the fact that they were both still alive and with each other.

**Author's Note:**

> My [Tumblr.](hellyeahhale.tumblr.com)


End file.
